Philip Simmons cross country team runs away with regional title
The Philip Simmons and Bishop England cross country teams had ultra-impressive performances in the Region 6-AA and Region 7-AAA meets, respectively. Now it’s time for the teams to shine in this weekend’s Lower State championships.
The Iron Horse boys might have been the most impressive as they claimed the region title with a 16-53 decision over Oceanside Collegiate.
Noah Ward of Philip Simmons had a national elite performance with a time of 15:57.00 to claim first place. Teammates Henry Wood, Will Finch and Thomas Schmenk finished second, third and fourth, respectively.
The Iron Horse girls captured the biggest trophy with a 22-34 victory over Oceanside Collegiate.
Seventh-grader Hailey Meyers led PSHS with a first-place finish. Emma Muller was second and Josie May was third. Grace Ward held down seventh place, Emmy Wood was ninth and Bella Mitchell was 10th.
The Bishop England boys also fared well. Sam Boykin finished second overall with a time of 16:51.0. Logan Desciah was fourth, Mark Richter fifth and Colin Costello 10th. Aidan Richter was 11th.
Jack Dantler had Hanahan’s best finish, finishing sixth.
Junior Patricia George led the Bishop girls with a fifth-place finish while teammates Mary Wallace Rainero and Annika Deveau finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
Hanna Johnson and Hannah Chelton had top-10 finishes for Hanahan.
The state championships will be held Nov. 3 at Sandhills.
BISHOP ENGLAND LOSES ON GRIDIRON
It’s tough to win on the road. It’s even tougher when you fall behind by two touchdowns.
This was the situation Bishop England faced last Friday when the football team traveled to Georgetown for a Region 7-AAA clash. The Bishops put up a good effort and rallied, but still came up on the wrong end of an 18-13 decision.
The Bishops, who close out the regular season this weekend with a road trip to Manning, fell to 3-5 overall and 2-2 in league play.
The Bishops were outgained 262-179 in total yards and once again quarterback Eddie Marinaro was the force on offense. He completed 35 percent of his passes for 92 yards and carried 29 tines for 75 yards. He accounted for both TDs, including an 11-yard run and a 19-yard TD pass to Chris Dengler.
IRON HORSES FALL
Philip Simmons dropped a 45-26 Region 6-AA game to Garrett Tech on Friday, but on this night the score was not the most important thing on the Iron Horses’ minds. One of the team’s up-and-coming starts, Bryant Collins, suffered an aneurysm and had to undergo surgery.
“We talked about this as a staff,” PSHS coach Eric Bendig said. “The kids are pretty resilient and will continue on with him in their minds. But some of them don’t know the gravity of the situation.”
Solly Bess, who has recovered from some early-season injuries, had a big game with 31 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns to account for a huge majority of the Iron Horses’157 yards in total offense.
Philip Simmons, 3-6 overall and 1-3 in the region, travels to Burke on Friday.